Medea Benjamin

About the author: Medea Benjamin is the director of Global Exchange, a San Francisco- based human rights organization.

Some U.S. companies that sell goods produced in foreign factories have agreed to adopt the Workplace Code of Conduct—a list of minimum standards for treatment of factory workers that was drawn up by a coalition of industry, labor, and human rights groups. These minimum standards will not adequately protect workers' human rights because they do not guarantee a living wage, freedom from mandatory overtime, or the right to collective bargaining. Eradicating the use of sweatshops will require continued public pressure on abusive corporations to treat workers with respect.

With much fanfare at a Rose Garden ceremony, President Clinton announced that a coalition of industry, human rights and labor groups had reached...